An ongoing look at the law - science interface in shaping arctic policy, the mapping of the Arctic Ocean continental shelf, and the development of norms for effective governance of the arctic and its natural resources.

Friday, May 11, 2012

A diverse, bipartisan coalition of politicians, military leaders, corporate interests and environmental groups has launched a new initiative, The American Sovereignty Campaign, to urge US accession to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in the current Congress. The site provides multiple fact sheets, an interactive map and background on why each of the coalition groups supports the Convention. For example, representatives of Lockheed Martin Corporation, Level 3
Communications, the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce and the American
Petroleum Institute – "made the business case for Law of the Sea Treaty
ratification" at a recent Forum sponsored by the Atlantic Council and the
Pew Charitable Trusts.

The United States is the only Arctic State that is not a party to the
LOS Convention, having
first submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for approval in 1994, but has
not yet acceded to it. Denmark and Canada joined the treaty in 2004 and
2003 respectively. Until the US accedes to the treaty it cannot submit
its data regarding the extent of the US extended continental shelf (ECS)
to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf,
established under the treaty. Without a Commission recommendation
regarding such data, the legal foundation for US ECS limits is much less
certain than if the US were a party to the LOS Convention.

As the only law professor on the science crew, I was along on HLY 0805 and 0905 to better understand the science behind the legal processthat the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes for states making ECS submissions. As to why the US is mapping now, even though it has not yet acceded to the Convention, read on bothhere,and in the Law of the Sea notes below.